Well, May was certainly a busy month!
Most of the troops signed up and attended the first Group Camp we have held for a few years, it was fantastic to get back under canvas for a few nights, the weekend was certainly enjoyed by all that attended! I think the highlight of the weekend was a trip to the historic dockyard, it was great to see the scouts so interested in the exhibits and taking in their surroundings.
For several of the scouts this added another three nights away to what is already an extensive portfolio of camping experience! Lots of new activities and a great chance to spend the time with Cubs and Beavers; it was lovely to see scouts working with the younger sections, hopefully this will encourage them to continue up through the movement.
We have managed to get out and about this month and as usual the weather has been good for our Monday night meetings! We have spent a couple of weeks polishing up on scouting skills, some of the scouts are preparing for the camping competition coming up in July whilst others are busy completing badges towards their gold award.
Preparation for a night hike went moderately well… asking patrols to set routes for their peers certainly led to some interesting options being drawn up – luckily some of the leaders stepped in rescued the situation so when we got to Stagbury for the start we didn’t have scouts heading for Wales! The evening went well with the groups finding their way back to the HQ just in the nick of time! One group with moments to spare… Much to amusement of my dog who had a great walk (albiet confused when the groups went in different directions…).
Carnaval preparation is well under way, we have a difficult task of a 1950s themed float for this year’s carnival procession, we engaged with the Scouts early and they have pics of iconic characters from that decade to bring the 1950s back to life! Hopefully we’ll see you at the carnival so you will be able to see all that hard work coming to fruition.
As always, the Trek Cart Race is the highlight of the carnival weekend! The teams have been hard at work practicing for this year’s event, there are some tough times to be beating from the troop’s last outing. There are also several the teams that are taking part in a charity Trek Cart pull to raise money for the WSJ and Project 23.
The scouts that are representing the troop at WSJ and Project 23 (Hampshire Scouts marvellous European road trip) have been working hard this month with their fundraising, they have been helping at a horse show and doing some car parking for a local football tournament, these young people are certainly determined!
Warren Turvey
Scout leader